Member Question: Mountain Bike Upgrades for Triathlon

I read somewhere about "bar ends" to put on your handle bars, do you recommend them? Is this similar to adding clip on aero bars?

Member question from GaryRM

Common question but could you talk about upgrading a mountain bike for use in a triathlon? On that I read somewhere about "bar ends" to put on your handle bars, do you recommend them? Is this similar to adding clip on aero bars?

Answer

Good for you! I did my first metric century on a full suspension mountain bike with 100 psi road tires.

Bar ends that come around in front of the bar like an “L” work great for alternate positions. That’s the best attack at getting more power out of a mountain bike. The bar ends may or may not make your body more aerodynamic depending on your position. A set of clip on aerobars that can bring your upper body down can be used if you have a flat bar. Most mountain bikes have some form of riser bar that would limit the ability to clamp the aerobars in place, so this may or may not be a good option for you.

I’d also recommend upgrading the tires to narrow road tires, not the knobby tires that mountain bikes normally have. These tires will roll faster and result in significantly faster speeds on pavement, so if you haven’t already made this change than I recommend doing so.

Author

FitWerx

Fit Werx offers the most scientific and complete bicycle fitting services in New England, the Northeast and beyond. Regardless of where you are from (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Australia, Macau...) a Fit Werx' bike fit is guaranteed to be worth the trip.

Author

FitWerx

Fit Werx offers the most scientific and complete bicycle fitting services in New England, the Northeast and beyond. Regardless of where you are from (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Australia, Macau...) a Fit Werx' bike fit is guaranteed to be worth the trip.